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HomeMy WebLinkAbout07/26/1994 City Council00524 MINUTES OF THE CITY COUNCIL MEETING HELD ON July 26, 1994 The Joint Work Session of the City Council and the Planning and Zoning Commission of the City of The Colony, Texas was called to order at 6:40 p.m. on the 26th day of July, 1994 at City Hall with the following Council roll call: William Manning, Mayor Present Mike Lynch, Mayor Pro-Tern Absent Toby Pollard, Councilman Present Kay Hardin, Councilman Present Rob Burchard, Councilman Present John Dillard, Councilman Present Lynda Tate, Councilman Present The following members of Planning and Zoning were present: Jim Wagner, V. Chairman; Members Barbara Crocker, Lyle Hilyard, Cindy DePrater, Steven Swerdloff and with six Councilmembers and five Planning and Zoning members present, a quorum was established for both bodies and the following item was addressed: 1. REVIEW PROPOSED DEVELOPMENT OF APPROXIMATELY 1100 ACRE TRACT AS PRESENTED BY DAL-MAC CONSTRUCTION CORPORATION Mr. Brad McJunkin, President of Dal-Mac introduced Mr. Richard Ferrara with Richard Ferrara Architect, Inc., who has been engaged by Dal-Mac to plan this development. Mr. Ferrara walked through his firm's thought processes in the development so far. Following are items he covered in his presentation: CONSIDERATIONS: 1. 1100 acres split by Hwy 121 with Business Park Zoning 2. Potential land uses 3. Major identity features on Hwy 121 4. Create villages within the tract 5. LISD needs and goals for the future 005747 6. The Colony needs 7. Commercial growth needs roof tops to get started 8. Quality of roof tops and commercial development 9. 1100 acres pure industrial is not feasible for city or developer 10. Tract must convey and be marketed as a mixed use planned community Dal-Mac prides itself on development standards and they don't want a series of patch work pieces divided by walls. Other types of buffers will be used where needed. Development standards will be established for each segment of the tract and Dal-Mac will work with the City staff, City Council, and the P & Z to ensure the best development. Mr. Ferrara said they plan to set up homeowners associations as well as land owners associations (non-residential). He cited the experience of the development team naming projects such as: Greenway, Vista Ridge Villages, Valley Ranch and others. Mr. McJunkin gave a brief history of the Dal-Mac Corporation, which was founded almost 40 years ago by his father. He said the contractor and development company has been in the top 10 in the metroplex area for the last several years. Mr. McJunkin said Dal- Mac is aware of the concerns in The Colony and that they want to create a center for large national users, and said they have to build a high quality development to make it work. Richard Ferrara then displayed the proposed land use drawings and explained as follows: The highest point in The Colony is found in their tract and that is where they plan to erect a much needed water tower. He said they have discussed the proposed thoroughfare plan with Hunter and Associates and have tried to draw their plans accordingly. Mr. Ferrara said they have initially dedicated 45 acres around the highest point for the water tower, a park, a school and to enhance Bridges Cemetery. The cemetery is a historical landmark and they want to preserve and enhance it with this development. He said there will be landscape easements along every major thoroughfare and that an employment center will be created along Hwy 121. Deviations in the development will flow north and south from the employment center. He said they will be looking for regional headquarter type businesses to locate along the Hwy 121 corridor. With regard to multi- family, Mr. Ferrara said they have a system that allows a community to come to grips with multi-family and said they would give the council a hand-out that outlines that system. He said it gives the city control through zoning and an architectural control committee. In order to maintain the high quality it is recommended the city implement a full certificate of occupancy inspection each time the property changes hands. Councilman Burchard asked what would be built first and what percentage would be residential, commercial, etc. Mr. Ferrara said currently there is planned 42% single family, 8 percent multi-family, 37% business park, 4% for the park, school, and cemetery and 9% remains for infrastructure. He said perhaps 2000 residential units would be built, including the multi family, and four and one-half million square feet are dedicated to the employment center. First to be constructed would be the northern street system, the extension of S. 00524° Colony and north south streets, the school and parks with growth to south. He said they -----. have more requests for land along 121 corridor now than they do for the residential but economically, they need to develop all areas across the whole property. Barbara Crocker asked about the type of housing and Mr. Ferrara said they will first look at what surrounds the property and build something that will blend with that on the perimeter then moving into the center they will build "up". Councilman Tate asked how long they anticipate before total build out and if they plan to start immediately with the area at Paige and Hwy 121. Mr. Ferrara said start time depends on how the community accepts the project, and stated that total build would be estimated at 20 years. He said that tonight they need input from the City so that the zoning requests can be filed within the next week and one-half. Johnny Smith asked how much infrastructure would be built. Mr. McJunkin stated they intend to build enough infrastructure in the first phase to be able to market any portion of the tract. Ms. Crocker suggested two north/south thoroughfares around the Paige and 121 area to handle the increased traffic. Councilman Tate asked if they always adhere to the city's standards regarding street widths and if they encourage parking garages. They follow city standards, but they always landscape and design the streets in such a manner that they appear to be wider and give the area a more open feel. Mr. Ferrara and Mr. McJunkin said they have been contacted by many interested parties regarding this property. Mr. McJunkin said all real estate people in the metroplex are aware of this meeting and are anticipating the outcome of this project. Lengthy discussion followed regarding the types of businesses this area will attract. Ms. Crocker said "-'"' the citizens of The Colony will not like the 42% residential and Mr. McJunkin stated that residential is necessary to help the business area grow. He continued, stating one will feed on the other and noted that only so many houses will be sold, guaranteeing that there will not be a large number of houses built before any retail or the employment center is begun. Further discussion regarding needs of the community. Mr. McJunkin said the market will dictate what type of businesses will locate here and noted that his company cannot make businesses come to The Colony, but that he will build the development so that they will be interested. Mayor Manning said they need to know if the council and P & Z is generally agreeable with the concept. Mr. McJunkin advised that Dal-Mac has the IBM property under contract, but they have not purchased the property and if it is determined that The Colony does not agree with this concept, then they will walk away. Mayor Manning advised that if that happens, then the City is likely to have 1100 acres undeveloped for another 15 years. Mr. McJunkin said again that Dal-Mac is sensitive to the needs of the city, but noted that his company is not going to make money on the residential development and if they thought they could sell more commercial, they certainly would do so. Mr. Ferrara agreed, stating that they have worked hard to come up with a very realistic use for this tract. Councilman Dillard said we need to look at what can happen in a city. He said we need more residential and businesses, noting we are desperate for a broader tax base. He went on to say this is the first group in a decade that has come to us with a major development and that want to add major commercial growth in our City. Councilman ~ 4 Dillard said this is our opportunity to get the city off dead center. Johnny Smith agreed and advised that once the commercial development starts along Hwy 121 it will cause a domino effect and we will see development all along the 121 corridor. Ms. Crocker said she sees no major problems with the plan. Mr. Smith said when we check the track record of Dal-Mac and Mr. Ferrara we will find that Dal-Mac is a good, high quality developer and Mr. Ferrara is an outstanding architect. Councilman Pollard asked if Dal-Mac would be flexible in considering changing some of their uses if the City requested it, such as allocating more for commercial development. Mr. Ferrara said they would be willing to talk about anything. Councilman Pollard went on to say this is the largest tract of land in the city for commercial development and that we have the highest tax rate in the area. He said we have to be careful to protect ourselves and do the best possible job on this development because if we don't we may find ourselves in a position of asking Frisco to annex us. Mr. McJunkin assured the Councilman that Dal-Mac has the same desire as the City, noting that if all they build is houses, they will go broke. He said they have to build the commercial development and they will do all they can to make that happen. With no further business to address, Mayor Manning adjourned the meeting at 8:45 p.m. APPROVED: William W. Manning, Mayor ~ ATFEST: Patti A. Hicks,TRMC, City Secretary